This is the story of Rachel Dupree, a black woman pioneer living with her husband and their five children in the Badlands of South Dakota. Isaac, RachThis is the story of Rachel Dupree, a black woman pioneer living with her husband and their five children in the Badlands of South Dakota. Isaac, Rachel's husband, is a hard man, determined that his children will never have to bow and scrape to the whites. In Isaac's mind, owning land is the only insurance against this. Rachel, who is nine months pregnant, is less certain. In their fourteen years in the Badlands, they have lost two children. Life in South Dakota is stark and mean and Rachel mourns that her children have not experienced the sweetness of childhood in such a barren place.

This book was compared to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, but they have little in common with this book. In the "Little House" books (except for the last two), the story is told from a child's perspective. The books are full of love and adventure, new challenges are exciting. The Personal History of Rachel Dupree is told from a mother's perspective, so it is fraught with worry and anxiety. The drought, the sick milk cow, her unborn child, the empty cellar are all reasons to worry about the future and the survival of her children.

This book was quite well-written, but I wouldn't call it a pleasure to read. Throughout it, I felt troubled and nervous, which is a testament to the Weisgarberr's skills. Also, it is worth noting that i had just found out I was pregnant when I read this book. Rachel's sometimes problematic pregnancy and anxiety hit VERY close to home. But I do look forward to more from her!...more

Hmmm. It came with rave reviews, but fell flat. The protagonist seems little more than a puppet, and the antagonist is evil, but with no motivation orHmmm. It came with rave reviews, but fell flat. The protagonist seems little more than a puppet, and the antagonist is evil, but with no motivation or reasoning. I skimmed the last 100 pages....more

Delicious! I loved reading this book! Morton tells the story of three women within four generations of a family. Story weaves into story, layer upon lDelicious! I loved reading this book! Morton tells the story of three women within four generations of a family. Story weaves into story, layer upon layer. Morton combines Gothic settings, Dickensian characters and fairy tales to produce a thoroughly entertaining book! I compulsively consumed this within two days--with an aunt visiting from out of state and a busy toddler! I stayed up until 1:00am to finish it, with absolutely no regrets....more

Sex and Girls: it's far, far worse than you thought. We have raised a generation of girls and young women who not expect sexual reciprocity. There isSex and Girls: it's far, far worse than you thought. We have raised a generation of girls and young women who not expect sexual reciprocity. There is a prevalent rape culture in our country. We have never thoroughly educated our children on their bodies and the pleasure of sex. We have raised outspoken, liberated, brave girls who find it impossible to speak up and ask for what they want: they are too ashamed and too ill-informed.Orenstein shares this information with us. She knows her readers are parents. She knows we are terrified. We read her revelations with dawning horror.And then she lets us in on a secret: simultaneously horrifying and freeing. WE can educate our children. We can teach them how to navigate the world of sexuality, how to be safe and autonomous and without regret. We just have to get over our own discomfort. Such a small cost for an amazing goal....more

Sordid, tawdry, and compulsively readable. Everyone's an unreliable narrator in this one. Smacks a bit of Gone Girl. However, Hawkins truly captures wSordid, tawdry, and compulsively readable. Everyone's an unreliable narrator in this one. Smacks a bit of Gone Girl. However, Hawkins truly captures what it is to live with a compulsive liar. ...more

One of my favorite books of the year. I don't normally enjoy post-apocalyptic books. But sometimes, a book like Station Eleven (or Peter Heller's TheOne of my favorite books of the year. I don't normally enjoy post-apocalyptic books. But sometimes, a book like Station Eleven (or Peter Heller's The Dog Stars) knock it out of the park with such lyrical and beautiful prose that it goes beyond genre....more

Wow! It's seldom that I'll have a lot of praise for a 250 page book that takes 150 pages to get into (mostly because I give up after 50 pages). That sWow! It's seldom that I'll have a lot of praise for a 250 page book that takes 150 pages to get into (mostly because I give up after 50 pages). That said, with the reader knowing this book is S-L-O-W going, this is such a good book. It's sad and terrible and completely worthwhile....more

Wow! What a perfect and jarring book to read right now. O'Farrell's novel follows two stories: present day Elina and Ted and their newborn and Lexie,Wow! What a perfect and jarring book to read right now. O'Farrell's novel follows two stories: present day Elina and Ted and their newborn and Lexie, a writer living in artistic Soho London after WWII.

Because I have a newborn of my own, it was eerie to be up in the middle of the night, feeding my own baby and reading about exhausted Elina, up in the middle of the night, feeding her baby. O'Farrell's successfully captures that blurry, anxious, sleepless feeling that dominates the first several weeks with a new baby: "He wants her to be happy. He wants the baby to sleep for more than three hours at a stretch. He wants to nave if not his old life then some kind of life, not this constant lurching from one day to the next."That word "lurching" perfectly describes how the stream of days feels at the very beginning. There is no routine, no anchor to hold to, you feel unmoored and uncertain and so so tired.

Also, O'Farrell deftly describes the constant stream of visitors one gets when you have a baby:"He had had no idea that having a baby would entail so much entertaining, so many visitors, so many phone calls and emails, so many pots of tea to be made, served, cleared away, washed up, that the mere act of procreation meant that people suddently wanted to come around several times a week and sit in your house for hours on end."

But, this book is also about Lexie, and O'Farrell creates a believable world of artists and creativity in post-war Soho. All in all, it is a well-written book....more

This book is about a rape that happens to a high school girl in a well-to-do neighborhood in Baton Rouge in 1989, and the years that follow. Parts ofThis book is about a rape that happens to a high school girl in a well-to-do neighborhood in Baton Rouge in 1989, and the years that follow. Parts of the book were well-written and evoked that sleepier time well.But excerpts like this made me shake my head in disbelief:"'She ain't even got no titties!' he told us. 'What would I want her for, anyway?'And with this simple statement, as odd as it seems, his name was cleared from Lindy's rape. The obvious sense it made, coming from him, and the dumb earnestness with which he said it made all of us, probably even Mr. Simpson included, finally believe him."The fact that the author has placed this rape as the crux of the entire novel, and yet seems to understand nothing about what rape is. The fact that the author seems to believe that rape is somehow related to desire and sex, instead of control and abuse. It's like reading about a different time, which is simply unforgivable, with all we know today....more

So, I had to pause, after I finished this book, but before I wrote my review, and cleaned my house. Miller tells of the shame and complicity and codepSo, I had to pause, after I finished this book, but before I wrote my review, and cleaned my house. Miller tells of the shame and complicity and codependence that come from growing up in an unimaginably filthy house due to her father's hoarding. The eponymous reality show has made the word "hoarders" into something recognizable. But this story shows how this compulsion effects the children of hoarders. ...more

After My Sister's Keeper, Ms. Picoult was dead to me as an author. An unsatisfactory ending led me to literally throw that book across the room. I eveAfter My Sister's Keeper, Ms. Picoult was dead to me as an author. An unsatisfactory ending led me to literally throw that book across the room. I even labeled books with auspicious beginnings and particularly irritating endings as having "the Picoult effect."small great things is different. It is Woke 101. It is the undergraduate course, not advanced, but somewhat thorough. It is possibly the white American's first attempt into recognizing racism in America. It will make a lot of people very uncomfortable.Picoult has woven an entertaining, thoughtful book. She has crafted a narrative from several different voices. She has captured an issue within America and set it down on paper. But the truth is, Picoult has done that several times before.My hat is off to Picoult for researching race in America, reading numerous books like The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and Ta-Nehesi Coates's Between the World and Me. Also, my hat is off to her for challenging her own understanding of race in America, as a white woman. Finally, Picoult must have balls of steel to have attempted the POV of a Black woman. I don't think she got it all right, but I'm glad she tried.That said, this book is not as important or as thorough at explaining race in America as The New Jim Crow or Between the World and Me. If you haven't read those, DO! Too often, whites in all capacities are celebrated for their groundbreaking work in deconstructing race that has already been done by people of color, but ignored by white America....more

Stunning and quite well-written memoir of Amanda Lindhout, the intrepid traveler/"reporter" who was kidnapped in Somalia in 2009 and held for over a yStunning and quite well-written memoir of Amanda Lindhout, the intrepid traveler/"reporter" who was kidnapped in Somalia in 2009 and held for over a year.

Lindhout catches the travel bug in her late teens. She spends almost 10 years focused only on travel and earning money to travel. I could relate to her wanderlust and realized we'd been in some of the same countries at the same times. However, just as my world traveling was coming to an end (pregnant with my first daughter in 2006), Lindhout's was becoming riskier. It's easy to criticize Lindhout's naïveté, but I think she owns that her foolish choices put her directly in harm's way.

Inspiring and horrifying, A House in the Sky is a compelling read....more

A funny, if entirely too-uncomfortable read. Silver is a charming loser. He's spent the last seven years grieving the loss of his divorce and lettingA funny, if entirely too-uncomfortable read. Silver is a charming loser. He's spent the last seven years grieving the loss of his divorce and letting his daughter slip away. His apathy toward life has become his life. An operable heart condition, his ex-wife's impending wedding, and his daughter's pregnancy add to the hijinks of Tropper's clever novel. Silver is clearly unlikable, but, by the end, even I was rooting for him--while simultaneously wanting to punch him in the nose. Well played, Mr. Tropper. Well played....more

And it did. Several times. Schwalbe's portrait of his mother is tender, wise, and heartbreaking. It is a lessonYeah, this is going to make me cry. . .

And it did. Several times. Schwalbe's portrait of his mother is tender, wise, and heartbreaking. It is a lesson about death, but also about why we read, the importance of being present, and doing your part to make the world a better place. Mary Ann(e) Schwalbe knew all of these things. It was a treat getting to know her....more

**spoiler alert** This book had me in its clutches. After losing a dear friend to suicide in March, I pushed this book away for months. I was afraid o**spoiler alert** This book had me in its clutches. After losing a dear friend to suicide in March, I pushed this book away for months. I was afraid of its weight, I suppose.The people who are left behind, when someone commits suicide, go through such an odd, conflicted grief. For some there is anger, but the guilt eclipses everything else. Could I have been a better friend?But the narrator in this heartfelt, sometimes funny book touches on all of it. The pain, the relief, the sadness, and celebrating the relationship with this person who she can never entirely understand.

I did not enjoy reading this book. Not one bit. There was not a single idyllic moment in Skyhorse's childhood. It was lies and shouting and instabilitI did not enjoy reading this book. Not one bit. There was not a single idyllic moment in Skyhorse's childhood. It was lies and shouting and instability. His mother's never-diagnosed mental illness (unless she were simply a huge asshole) muddied every almost-good memory. But, in the end, Brando finds people who don't lie and shout and try to break him. It hardly seems enough, but somehow it's hopeful....more

This was not an easy book to read. In fact, I gave up on it twice. The only reason I persevered the third time is because my mom recommended it.It isnThis was not an easy book to read. In fact, I gave up on it twice. The only reason I persevered the third time is because my mom recommended it.It isn't easy and it's not particularly fun. But it's doubtful any book about North Korea could be light.It made me think about all of the attributes we identify within ourselves: goodness, honesty, integrity and how lucky we are to live in the Western world. In North Korea, survival is tantamount. Sometimes people do bad things to survive. Such a heartbreaking book, made more tragic knowing that the stories are true. The eccentricities of the Dear Leader were not exaggerated....more

This book slayed me. The first hundred pages (the story of Hemingway's courtship with Hadley Richardson,his first wife) were so beautifully written thThis book slayed me. The first hundred pages (the story of Hemingway's courtship with Hadley Richardson,his first wife) were so beautifully written they made my teeth ache. McLain's writing echoes the spare loveliness of Hemingway's.

And then things began to fall apart. Ernest and Hadley move to glamorous Paris during the 1920s. They are surrounded by charismatic, charming, creative and deeply flawed people. The parties and travels have a desperate, addictive feeling to them.

All of this is told in Hadley's staid, solidly mid-western voice. She details the failure of their marriage and, because the beginning was so tender, it breaks your heart....more

I seriously WANT to give this book five stars, but I really try to reserve that for more "serious literature." The kind of stuff you WANT people to seI seriously WANT to give this book five stars, but I really try to reserve that for more "serious literature." The kind of stuff you WANT people to see you reading on the plane, the kind you can feel smart about recommending to anyone. But this book has so much. It's laugh-out-loud funny, it's smart (I never read Whitman's Leaves of Grass that deeply as a college lit major), it has character development and characters with real, flawed relationships, and it's a young adult novel. If this is what contemporary YA reading is like, sign me up--that Twilight crap is for the birds. It's the story of Quentin, a nerdy senior about to graduate, and his relationship with Margo Roth Speigelman, his beautiful, adventurous, everything neighbor who he has (as in all of the proper, coming-of-age, about-to-graduate films) carried a torch for about 15 years. The dialogue is fantastic. The scene at the BP, during the roadtrip, with the t-shirt, is absolutely classic. You have to read it. . .I've decided, I WILL give this book five stars. It is fan-fucking-tastic....more

Yum! I really love Kate Morton's novels. She really knows how to create some thick "atmosphere." This book, in particular, is VERY atmospheric. ThereYum! I really love Kate Morton's novels. She really knows how to create some thick "atmosphere." This book, in particular, is VERY atmospheric. There is the dark, gothic castle, the bleak presence of World War II, disappearances, madness, lost love and too many mysteries to mention.It can be a TEENSY bit wearying that Morton insists on waiting until the final 75 pages (of this 560 page book), to answer ANY of the reader's questions. It's a bit annoying, the constant winding up of the reader. But the mysteries are solved, all of them. A few are somewhat of a letdown, but mostly they are clever and compelling and definitely worth the read!...more

This book was well-written and compelling. It is two stories: the story of Sharla, a neglected, unloved, abused mixed-race child during the 80s in a tThis book was well-written and compelling. It is two stories: the story of Sharla, a neglected, unloved, abused mixed-race child during the 80s in a trailer park who comes to live with Addy and also the story of Addy as a girl and young black woman, growing up in the 20s and 30s in Rusholme, Canada, the final destination of the Underground Railroad. Rusholme is a community founded by former slaves, so when Addy finally leaves, she faces a different world. The book is beautifully written and lovely. It would deserve five stars, except the last 100 pages seemed to sort of wind around, with no particular focus. I really enjoyed The Girls, also by Lansens, and eagerly await her next novel, out in a few months....more

**spoiler alert** Meh. Not my kind of book. Like, the kind where I grow to care about the characters. Mermaids who drown and wild boys who disappear.**spoiler alert** Meh. Not my kind of book. Like, the kind where I grow to care about the characters. Mermaids who drown and wild boys who disappear. Cursed tarot cards and a freak show. All would be acceptable, if only I would have given a single fuck. ...more

Is there anything more sumptuously melancholy than an Anne Tyler book? For all their plainness, Tyler's books celebrate the uniqueness in the ordinaryIs there anything more sumptuously melancholy than an Anne Tyler book? For all their plainness, Tyler's books celebrate the uniqueness in the ordinary, the extraordinary in the everyday.But I find her books emotionally exhausting, with a lump in my throat for most of the book....more

I came to read this book with no expectations. It was not polished or especially refined. If suffered from bouts of obviousness (plot twists, characteI came to read this book with no expectations. It was not polished or especially refined. If suffered from bouts of obviousness (plot twists, characterization, back stories), but it was an enjoyable read. I feel rather protective of this little book, so I'm not going to rate it with stars. I don't know how well it can stand up to expectations....more

A perfect book. Gorgeous, poetic, wise, rich. I reread it about every five years, and every time I do, I learn something new. An absolute masterpieceA perfect book. Gorgeous, poetic, wise, rich. I reread it about every five years, and every time I do, I learn something new. An absolute masterpiece and one of my all-time, top five books!...more